Color Scheme and Your Mood: Choosing the Right Color Scheme for Your Home

Ever heard the expression, “feeling blue”? What about “green with envy”? We use these phrases to describe someone’s mood, but what if they actually describe someone’s environment as well? Research suggests that our environment can have a huge, sometimes lasting impact on our mood. So, how do we know which colors will help us feel our best? Well, here’s the breakdown:

Choosing your tone

Our emotions toward color have a lot to do with the tone or shade of the color. For example, a bright green may invoke different emotions than a dark green would. This makes choosing the right color for your room twice as hard, but it can also make a world of difference.

Choosing your accents

Your theme has a lot to do with the items and colors you use to decorate your room as well. Should the accent throw be a solid color? What about the rug? It’s important to use these items to further surround yourself with your own creative expression.

Choosing your color

Now, for the most important part. When choosing what color you would like to use, regardless of its tone, there are a few questions you can ask yourself. Maybe you’ll go with your favorite color. Maybe that shower curtain you picked up from Target is the perfect inspiration for your living room walls. Whatever it may be, make sure it is versatile and can accommodate your yearly rearrangements and spur of the moment flower vase purchase.

Don't forget to do your research. Often times people make their color scheme choice on the paint color that stood out to them the most at Home Depot. While this is fine, this is an important choice. You can always re-paint the walls later, but why create more trouble for yourself? Put some test swatches on your wall, use the internet to research the psychology behind certain colors, ask other members of your household or close friends. Do whatever you can to make sure you are making the right color choice.

Questions to consider:

Will this wall color make my house less marketable?

Will this wall color be easy to replicate should the room need retouching?

What is my style? (darker, more subtly colors, or fun and vibrant colors? Contemporary or traditional?)

How do I want my visitors and  family to feel when they are in this room? (Cozy? Relaxed? Etc.)